Consumers and Doctors Increasingly Divided on Who Should Have Access
to a Patient’s Electronic Health Record, Accenture Survey Finds

March 01, 2016 06:33 AM Eastern Daylight Time

CHICAGO--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--A new survey
by Accenture
(NYSE:ACN) found that the divide between U.S. consumers and doctors who
believe that patients should have full access to their own electronic
health records (EHRs) has widened from two years ago – with patients now
five times as likely as doctors to believe that patients should have
full access to their records.

“When health information is completely transparent, the relationship
between a doctor and patient grows stronger”

While the findings show that the number of consumers who believe they
should have full access to their records has increased over the past two
years—from 84 percent in 2014 to 92 percent today – the number of
doctors who shared that belief dropped significantly, from 31 percent to
18 percent, during the same period.

These U.S. findings – part of a seven-country survey of roughly 8,000
consumers, including 2,225 in the United States – also found that the
number of patients who know exactly what data they can access in their
EHRs has increased by more than 50 percent over the past two years, from
39 percent in
2014 to 65 percent today.

“Until now, the flow of clinical information has been to the doctor,”
said Kaveh
Safavi, M.D., J.D., who leads Accenture’s health practice
globally. “With digitization driving a new level of information parity,
doctors need to embrace – not resist – the notion of patients having
complete access to their records.”

The Accenture survey also found that most consumers (77 percent) want to
see exactly what the doctor sees – not a summary. However, significantly
more consumers are likely to access their EHR to stay informed than they
are to help with making medical decisions (41 percent vs. 6 percent).
The areas cited most often by consumers for using their EHRs to manage
their health include having access to lab results (41 percent) and
having access to their physician’s notes about the visit (24 percent).

Consumers have strong views on who should access their EHR data. While
three-fourths view an EHR as a tool for their primary doctor, fewer than
1 in 30 consumers believe that an employer or government organization
should have access to their records (each cited by only 3 percent of
respondents), and fewer than 1 in 10 (9 percent) believe that a retail
clinic should have access to their records.

In addition, the majority of consumers believe they should be able to
update certain information in their EHR, including family medical
history (cited by 89 percent), new symptoms (87 percent), demographic
information (86 percent), changes in symptoms (86 percent) and personal
medical history (83 percent). The number of doctors who believe patients
should also be able to update various elements of their own records was
similar to that for consumers.

“When health information is completely transparent, the relationship
between a doctor and patient grows stronger,” added Safavi. “The more a
patient understands about themselves, the more they can take an active
role in managing their own health.”

Methodology

Accenture commissioned a survey of roughly 8,000 consumers in seven
countries to assess their adoption and attitudes toward digital health
tools, electronic health records and their healthcare providers’
electronic capabilities. The seven countries represented were the United
States (2,225 respondents), Australia (1,013), Brazil (1,006), England
(1,009), Norway (800), Saudi Arabia (852) and Singapore (935). The
survey was conducted by Nielsen between November 2015 and January
2016. Where relevant, the survey refers to select findings from a similar
physician survey to compare doctor and consumer responses.

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a
broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital,
technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and
specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business
functions – underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network –
Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help
clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their
stakeholders. With approximately 373,000 people serving clients in more
than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the
world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.